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B/X D&D on balance
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<blockquote data-quote="Doug McCrae" data-source="post: 5881185" data-attributes="member: 21169"><p>D&D had, I think, been moving away from the mega-dungeon sandbox as the default mode of play since OD&D was published. 1e isn't strong on the mega-dungeon or sandbox, it mostly just hints at it. Moldvay Basic was published in 1981, so it was later than 1e.</p><p></p><p>In a non-sandbox game, the DM has more power over what the PCs encounter, and advancement rates, though adventures might still be 'mini sandboxes' like Keep on the Borderlands.</p><p></p><p>Consider this quote from the 1e DMG (pg 87), emphasis mine -</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">The testing grounds for novice adventurers must be kept to a difficulty factor which encourages rather than discourages players. If things are too easy, then there is no challenge, and boredom sets in after one or two games. Conversely, impossible difficulty and character deaths caus instant loss of interest. Entrance to and movement through the dungeon level should be relatively easy, with a few tricks, traps, and puzzles to make it interesting in itself. Features such as rooms and chambers must be described with verve and sufficiently detailed in content to make each seem as if it were strange and mysterious. <strong>Creatures inhabiting the place must be of strength and in numbers not excessive compared to the adventurers' wherewithal to deal with them</strong>.</p><p></p><p>I suspect that Mentzer Basic, published in 1983, is even more 'new school'.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Doug McCrae, post: 5881185, member: 21169"] D&D had, I think, been moving away from the mega-dungeon sandbox as the default mode of play since OD&D was published. 1e isn't strong on the mega-dungeon or sandbox, it mostly just hints at it. Moldvay Basic was published in 1981, so it was later than 1e. In a non-sandbox game, the DM has more power over what the PCs encounter, and advancement rates, though adventures might still be 'mini sandboxes' like Keep on the Borderlands. Consider this quote from the 1e DMG (pg 87), emphasis mine - [indent]The testing grounds for novice adventurers must be kept to a difficulty factor which encourages rather than discourages players. If things are too easy, then there is no challenge, and boredom sets in after one or two games. Conversely, impossible difficulty and character deaths caus instant loss of interest. Entrance to and movement through the dungeon level should be relatively easy, with a few tricks, traps, and puzzles to make it interesting in itself. Features such as rooms and chambers must be described with verve and sufficiently detailed in content to make each seem as if it were strange and mysterious. [B]Creatures inhabiting the place must be of strength and in numbers not excessive compared to the adventurers' wherewithal to deal with them[/B].[/indent] I suspect that Mentzer Basic, published in 1983, is even more 'new school'. [/QUOTE]
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